Detroit schools increase security to deter vandals

Carlos Osorio | Associated PressIn this April 11, 2010 photo, Detroit Public Schools K9 officer John Greene congratulates his dog Nitro after they chased three teenagers breaking into lockers at the Thomas Cooley High School in Detroit.

Even as they pried open locker
after locker early Sunday evening, picking through book bags and
jackets, several patrol cars sped their way. The Associated Press was
along for the ride.

The teens smashed a glass window to an office
containing rows of computers before an officer and tracking dog entered
the building.

"He picked up the scent and led us upstairs," K-9
unit officer John Greene said, referring to his 83-pound German Shepherd
Nitro. "When we got halfway down the hall, they saw me and the dog and
started taking off."

The teens led Greene and Nitro on a frenetic
chase past rows of lockers and silent classrooms to other officers
waiting outdoors.

"I was just forcing them outside," Greene said.
"I didn't want him to make contact with them due to their size. They
were kids."

The teens were turned over Sunday night to their
parents pending charges this week.

Motion detectors like those at
Cooley High, along with miniature, high-tech security cameras and silent
alarms, are helping reduce theft and vandalism in dozens of buildings.

The
damage at Cooley, which was closed for the weekend, was limited to
several lockers ripped open and office windows smashed in a search for
computers and other valuables. But older, more skilled thieves have
caused millions of dollars in damage while stealing copper pipes and
electrical wiring they sell to scrap yards.

More than 80 people
have been arrested since June, when the schools' emergency financial
manager Robert Bobb stepped up security. The workload for district
police is daunting and likely to get heavier when 44 schools close
permanently this summer.

"We will remain relentless in tracking
down and putting an immediate halt to all those who have viewed
Detroit's schools as their personal sites for shopping sprees — be they
nighttime bandits or corporate execs," Bobb said Monday. "Anyone who
tries to take resources from Detroit's schoolchildren should be on
notice."

Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Bobb in March
2009 to fix the district's finances. He initiated investigations that
led to the arrests of current and former employees for fraud and theft.
Contractors and companies believed to have bilked the district also are
being investigated.

With enrollment continuing to drop, Bobb also
closed 29 schools last fall. As of last month, the district had made
more than $4 million by selling off 11 vacant properties. Another 36
properties are being leased for more than $1.4 million.

But there
is little value or interest in empty schools after vandals and thieves
have been through them, said John Bell, district inspector general.

Plywood
boards and metal grates have been ripped from vacant buildings. Walls
have been smashed and ceilings torn out to get to metal pipes and wires.

"Millions
of dollars in damage can be done," Bell said. "It becomes a liability
to us because we have to pay" to demolish the building.

To prevent
such damage, the district placed surveillance and security equipment in
all open and recently closed schools. It's also spending about $2
million on repairs and upgrades to those systems.

Another $41.7
million spent on security is planned for new schools and others
scheduled for renovations over the next five years.

"We have
security systems, cameras that can be monitored remotely and placed
strategically within buildings," said Craig Schwartz, district deputy
police chief. "If a building is entered, we will be able to capture it
on video almost immediately."

Cameras videotaped three other teens
breaking into another school in October. They were arrested as they
approached the school's computer room.